Chapter Twenty-six
For the second morning in a row, Roman and Mia were awoken by his phone. Not as early as the office fire alert from Kevin, but it was still barely light when Roman scrabbled to snatch his cell off the bedside table.
“It’s Scott Lamb,” he said in a shocked voice.
Mia sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. She stared down at her arm where her skin lay smooth as silk with no hint of goosebumps. Her eyes flicked to the still ringing phone. “I’m not getting danger vibes.”
“Let’s see what he wants.” Roman cleared his throat, tapped the screen, and brought the cell to his ear. “Hello, Roman Mancini speaking.”
He listened for several beats then swung his legs to the floor and paced across the bedroom. The dogs sprang from beds and looked to Mia with wild hope in their eyes. She made a cutting gesture with her hand, and they quieted but remained gathered on her side of the bed.
“It’s a tough situation but your parents only want what’s best for you,” Roman said. “Yeah. Of course. I’d be pissed too … uh huh … we can make that work. No, we’ll come to you. Don’t bother. I’ve got it already … yep. Ten o’clock is fine. See you then.”
He ended the call then shook his head and glanced over at Mia. “Talk about unexpected.”
“Why does he want to meet us?” she asked.
“I think he’s hoping to talk us into backing off. Said he doesn’t want Eliza upset before the wedding seeing as it’s her big day and all.”
“Do you think he knows what she’s been doing to us?”
“Not sure, but I’d have to guess he doesn’t. Anyway, I don’t know if ten works for you? His company is located in Walkerton.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Maybe we can actually make him see reason. And since he’s the one who reached out, Jennifer and Thomas can’t be mad about us talking.”
“I think I won’t tell them until after the chat. Just in case they try to intervene. It’d be nice to get Scott on his own.”
Mia got to her feet, which the dogs took to be a positive step toward acquiring their breakfast and they yipped and whined in excitement. “Talk about a golden opportunity. I need to get this morning started. And I’m clearly not going anywhere until I feed the pack, but I’d better hurry. Don’t want to be late in case he changes his mind.”
They pulled into the parking lot of Quantum Mind Technologies at ten minutes to ten.
“Looks fancy,” Mia said, studying the ten-story metal and glass structure.
“Quantum bought the building last year, so he owns the place. Paid five million cash. I’d say his company is doing damn well.”
“I believe it. AI is the hottest thing right now and it’s only going to get bigger.”
Inside, they reported to the reception desk where a serious-faced and exceptionally fit-looking man demanded to see their ID before handing them a plastic visitor’s tag and providing escort all the way to the top floor. Mia noted he had a gun on his right hip and a taser on his left.
The next level of security came in the more genteel form of a smiling brunette woman in her early fifties.
“Thanks, Jonah, I’ll take them back. I’m June. This way, please,” she said, gliding gracefully from behind the counter.
They walked into a large open space which was home to both ping-pong and foosball tables along with a section of free-standing whiteboards covered with doodles, scribbled notes and reminders, and multiple fragments of computer code. There was also a full-sized fridge, a Nespresso machine, and a table laid out with a variety of baked goods.
“Must be hard to resist the allure of treats,” Mia commented.
June let out a rueful chuckle but didn’t look over at the table, instead keeping her eyes fixed firmly forward. “I find if I don’t look at them, everything’s okay, but the minute I make eye contact, I know my day will be an all-out war with that sneaky voice in my head. It’s hardest first thing when Scott arrives with them fresh from the bakery. The smells are … intoxicating.”
“I’ll bet. Have you worked here for long?” she asked.
“Since it was a startup. I came across from Mr. Lamb senior. He wanted Scott to have someone reliable at his back for the day to day. I thought it would only be for a year or so, but I love working here. There’s such a wonderful atmosphere in the office and it’s exciting to see some of the things they’re creating. I may have drunk the Kool-Aid, but I think what they’re doing is going to be revolutionary. Especially in the fields of medicine and space exploration.”
The perimeter walls of the common space were glass. Most blinds were open, affording a view of young men and women hunched over screens. The only exception being the office at the back left corner, which had been shuttered and the door closed. June gave the door a perfunctory knock before easing it open and stepping back.
“Scott, Mr. Mancini and Ms. Reeves to see you.”
“Great. And right on time.”
A tingle of unease swept through Mia when she stepped into the office.
It was medium sized with nothing but windows on the far wall, giving a view of the west side of Walkerton. She could see the water tower and some of the high-rises from the downtown section of the city.
Scott stood from behind his walnut desk. In person, he was tall and lanky like his father. A large Adam’s apple bobbled when he swallowed, and his shoulders were narrow. He sported the same copper hair as daddy, but his face was more refined, the nose less prominent and the eyes bigger and a soft amber color.
“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. You already know Kerry Jones, right?”
Mia turned and came face to face with the bob woman from the Eliza ambush outside city hall. “Yes. We’ve met,” was all she said.
Roman shifted beside Mia. “Hi, I’m Roman. Haven’t had the pleasure, though I’ve heard all about you, Ms. Jones.”
Kerry flushed and her gaze went straight to the ground. She didn’t say anything, seeming to shrink back as though trying to disappear.
“Since Kerry was the one who brought you to my attention, I asked her to sit in. I hope you don’t mind?”
“It’s your show. Whatever you want is fine with us,” Roman said.
He held a chair out for Mia then, despite her obvious embarrassment, did the same for Kerry before taking the seat closest to the door. Scott settled himself behind his desk and studied them.
“So. Here’s the thing. I know my parents hired you because they’ve got some wild hair about Eliza, but I want you to stop the investigation. I have zero doubts about my fiancée. She’s a wonderful person and this wedding is going to happen. I don’t want her upset and I certainly won’t have you two ruining her big day.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Mia noted Kerry clasped her hands together and nodded along while Scott spoke.
“You said Kerry came to you, not Eliza?” Roman asked.
His eyes shifted to Kerry and his face softened. “That’s right. Kerry’s such a good friend to my girl. Eliza was obviously showing me a brave face and wouldn’t have wanted to make a fuss by putting me at odds with my folks. I’m so grateful Kerry filled me in. I knew my girl was preoccupied this last week or so, but I thought it was just wedding planning stuff, you know?”
“She’s so hurt. I think she’d hoped becoming a part of Scott’s family would help heal some of the heartbreak of losing her own. Then she found out they were attacking her, and it cut deep,” Kerry said in a soft voice.
Scott shifted forward in his chair and laid his hands on the top of his desk. “My mom left when I was young. I don’t remember much about her, but I do remember how confused and sad I was. Years later, when I found out she’d died, it was another shock to the senses. It kills me to think of my family inflicting extra pain on top of what Eliza’s already feeling.”
Kerry took in a sharp breath. “I hadn’t thought about you losing your mom, too. It’s beyond awful. I know how hard it can be because mine died two years ago. I guess that’s something all three of us share.”
“I’m sorry for both of your losses. Sincerely. It’s never easy losing a family member,” Roman said.
“So you can understand why you need to stop poking at Eliza?” Scott said.
“It doesn’t bother you that her entire family died under such strange circumstances?” Mia asked.
His gaze sharpened. “How can you call a car accident and a suicide strange? More tragic than anything.”
“Yes and no.” Roman tipped his head side to side. “What did she tell you about her parents’ death?”
“Only that her dad had some kind of medical emergency and during the panicked drive to the hospital, her mom got in an accident.”
“That’s true enough. But it’s not everything. For instance, Philip had a well-known allergy to peanuts. We’ve just recently discovered Eliza purchased a vial of peanut oil the day before their death and shortly after a vicious fight she had with her father. She hid the vial and when it was discovered months later by her sister, denied any knowledge. Which was a lie. We have proof positive.”
Scott’s mouth opened then his lips pressed into a thin line, and he shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Eliza would never have done that. She loved her parents,” Kerry said.
Mia turned to face her. “Really? You were Maryanne’s roommate. You must have overheard some of the conversations when Eliza called to complain about them? According to our sources, Maryanne was always trying to put out fires between her sister and parents. Especially in the days leading up to their deaths.”
Kerry’s eyes shifted away and her shoulders hunched. “But … that’s just … it doesn’t mean anything. Lots of kids fight with their parents but they still love them.”
“And Maryanne died only weeks after she’d confronted Eliza with the peanut oil. This was a girl with no history of drug use or rebellious behavior. Her friends swear up and down she wasn’t depressed and had shown no suicidal tendencies,” Mia pressed. “You were right there at ground zero. Is anything I said about Maryanne false?”
“Well … not exactly. I mean, she seemed fine when I left on Saturday morning but maybe something happened after. And you can’t ever know what anyone else is thinking or feeling deep inside.”
“Look. Eliza would never have tried to kill her parents. That’s just not who she is. And Maryanne’s death was ruled a suicide, plain and simple,” Scott said.
“Did Kerry happen to mention what Eliza’s been up to these last few days?” Roman asked.
Scott’s eyes flicked over to Kerry, then he shrugged. “No. I’m sure mostly wedding stuff and doing her business. She’s always so busy.”
“Well, why don’t I fill you in. First of all, she committed credit card fraud, ordered jewelry from Mia, then when they met in person, threatened her.”
“Yep. Totally true,” Mia said. “The next day I was swamped with bogus orders on my website—more fraud by the way. Both mine and Roman’s businesses have also been bombed with one-star reviews on Yelp in the last forty-eight hours.”
Roman continued on. “Plus, I’ve had an arson fire at my office, and we’ve had our own wedding sabotaged when someone cancelled several of our vendors.”
“Can you prove any of this was Eliza?”
“Other than the face-to-face threats, no. But it stands to reason since we don’t have any other enemies,” Roman said.
“Eliza threatened Mia?” Scott asked Kerry.
“Well, yeah. I guess. It was more asking her to back off,” she said.
“Or ‘bad things’ would happen,” Mia said, using air quotes.
Kerry leaned toward Scott, gripping the arm rests until her knuckles went white. “It’s because she loves you so much and she was scared these lies about her family would make you change your mind. She’d be heartbroken if you called off the wedding. You’re her entire world.”
A smile flicked over Scott’s lips. “Well, I think I might be neck and neck with JP but at least I’m in the top two.”
“Maybe. But only because he met her first,” Kerry said earnestly.
He slumped in his chair and tipped his face toward the ceiling for several seconds. Finally, he released a breath and brought his gaze back to Roman and Mia.
“Okay, I’ll ask Eliza about the encounter she had with you, Mia. But as for the rest, it’s nothing but speculation. I’m sorry for your troubles, but it’s not Eliza. I can guarantee that. I don’t think she knows anything about hacking so how would she even go about placing bogus orders or posting verified reviews on Yelp?”
“Good point. But you could do it, right?” Roman said.
Scott’s expression went to stone. “I was prepared to be civil, but you just crossed the line, mister. I want you and Mia out of my office right now. Leave Eliza alone. If you bother her, I’ll look into pressing charges and see about getting your license revoked.”
Roman crossed his arms over his chest. “First of all, we were hired by you parents, so take it up with them. Secondly, we have not—one single, solitary time—approached Eliza. In fact, whichever way you look at it, she’s the one crossing the line. And last thing, we’ll be at the Lambs’ party tomorrow night.” He paused and smiled broadly. “Eliza invited us.”